SNV from 1960-1970: Anything but N-O-R-M-al
Another decade in the 100-year history of the Swiss Association for Standardization SNV: The 1960s are the time when society is moved and shaken. The Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the student movement, flower power, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the first moon landing and the birth control pill are just a few terms that summarize the decade in key words.
While individuality is sought in the cultural and social context, the work of national and international standardization continues to establish itself in the economic environment. Companies have an unrestrained interest in standardization, which opens up access to new international markets for them.
Foundation of CEN - Strengthening the European economy with standards work
In 1961, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN, Comité Européen de Normalisation) was founded with the aim of strengthening the European economy and promoting environmental protection. Thanks to uniform standards throughout Europe, goods and services in the single European market should be freed from technical barriers to trade and thus be able to compete successfully in the global market. The foundation stone for CEN was laid as early as 1960 in Zurich; CEN's headquarters are in Brussels.
Today, more than 200,000 experts are involved in CEN's work. The results of their activities reach more than 600 million people. CEN has 34 national members representing their country. Switzerland and its interests are represented by SNV. CEN is the official European standardization organization for all areas except electrical engineering and telecommunications (ETSI). More information about CEN is available at www.cen.eu
The SNV is constituted as an association
The 1960s were also significant for the Swiss Association for Standardization (SNV). In 1962, the SNV's leaders found the appropriate organizational form that is still valid today. The SNV is constituted as an association with Willi Ruggaber as president (1962-1972).
In 1968, the SNV celebrates its 50th anniversary and looks back on half a century of successful activity with several hundred specialists involved. In the NZZ of September 25, 1968, Willi Ruggaber explains standardization to readers as follows: "The main goal of standardization, however, is to achieve increased performance in technology, business, administration and science. From a business point of view, profitability is to be improved through savings in material costs, labor wages and general overheads, whereby type reduction has the greatest influence on pricing and competitiveness. Type reduction not only brings significant cost degression for the manufacturer, but also frees up capital for the user by reducing inventories. Thanks to standardization, mass-produced goods in particular can be manufactured more economically and selling prices can be lowered, so that an ever larger proportion of the population can afford more and more goods. It can be deduced that standardization can be an important means of raising the standard of living."
In the same 1968 issue of the NZZ, Alfred J. Furrer, then Head of Rieter Technology and later President of the SNV (1981-1991), explains the achievements of textile standardization that are of vital importance for successful export activities of the Swiss textile industry. For example, the length of natural and synthetic yarns on bobbins, color fastness testing, shrinkage of fabrics during washing, and also care labeling of textiles.
Flower power with standards
While in the 1960s young people in particular went against social conventions, their lifestyle was shaped by norms unnoticed by them. Whether the followers of the flower power movement realized that their colorful and individual clothing probably also involved various Swiss experts from the field of standardization? Or that, for example, cross-border rail and road traffic as well as lighting and sound at concerts are simplified thanks to uniform standards?
How does a standard come into being?
Standardization has long influenced daily life, although not all areas are affected equally. Musical instruments, for example, are not very well standardized internationally. In 2017, the Standardization Authority of China (SAC) submits an application to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to establish a committee to decide on standards for musical instruments. The application is rejected because too few members want to commit themselves to this application.
However, if an application is accepted, the corresponding working group starts its standardization work. Standards are not developed by the legislator, an authority or a state regulator, but by the interested parties themselves. All those interested in the subject can participate in the technical work in the standards committees and contribute their expertise. To ensure that the market accepts the standards produced, it is important to achieve the broadest possible participation in the standardization process. In this way, a wide range of opinions and interests are incorporated into the standard that is developed. Each standard is submitted to the expert public for comment before it is finally adopted. In this public enquiry phase, the draft standard is published for the first time outside the responsible standards committee and is also available to specialists who are not members of a recognized standards organization.
An up-to-date overview of draft standards for comment can be found on the drafting portal of the Swiss Information Center for Technical Rules (SWITEC design portal). The graphic below shows how a standard is created:
